The total minimum payment is the amount you’re required to pay by the due date each month. Paying at least this amount by the due date helps you avoid late payment fees so you can keep using your card.
The downside to only making the total minimum payment is that it’ll take longer for you to pay off your balance. Even if you’ve reached your credit limit and stop using your card for purchases, the interest will increase as long as there’s a balance to pay off.
If you pay less than the total minimum payment, you’ll be charged a month’s worth of interest calculated on your balance for each day of that statement period. You’ll also lose your interest-free days for the next statement period.
Your total minimum payment is calculated by adding together your 'monthly payment' and your 'past due or over- limit amount'.
Monthly payment
A monthly payment is the amount due from purchases, fees and transactions you’ve made during your monthly statement period. We work this out by looking at your closing balance for that month.
If your closing balance is:
- more than $1,250, your monthly payment is 2% of the closing balance
- $25 - $1,250, your monthly payment is $25
- less than $25, your monthly payment is the full balance amount.
Past due or over-limit amount
A past due amount is any amount you had to pay in your previous statement period but didn’t.
An over-limit amount is the amount of your closing balance that’s above your credit limit.
If you have one of these, it’ll be included in your total minimum payment and will need to be paid straight away. If you have both, the higher of the two amounts will be included in the total minimum payment to be paid straight away.